Benedict Cumberbatch reads a notoriously grumpy Irish playwright's letter of complaint

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6 ай бұрын

In July of 1905, after attending a performance of Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, renowned playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw wrote a letter of complaint to The Times.
On November 16th 2023, Benedict Cumberbatch joined us at the 10th anniversary edition of Letters Live, in association with Montblanc, at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall.
© George Bernard Shaw, 1905

Пікірлер: 115

@Pablorcct 6 ай бұрын

Benedict really is one of the greats, i could listen to him for hours i hope he make another audiobook sometime ❤

$@iffracem$

@iffracem 6 ай бұрын

He and Stephen Fry co-narrating an audio book... It'd be an orgasm for the ears

@Pablorcct 6 ай бұрын

@@iffracem oh yes, i love Stephen voice too, or maybe an audiobook with Ben & Tom Hiddleston after all their friends

@leopoldbloom4835 6 ай бұрын

I just had a look an actual recording of G.B. Shaw and found how amazing Benedict Cumberbatch's impression is. His performance is as entertaining as it is acurate.

@LazyIRanch 6 ай бұрын

I did the same thing, I had a sense that he was impersonating Shaw so I wanted to compare. He nailed the voice and the mannerisms perfectly!

@davetracey1 6 ай бұрын

Apart from the accent which is laughably wrong? How is it a good impression?

@CatsJP 6 ай бұрын

Benedict has given ten years of joy doing this..he has given the world an insight into how important it is to keep the power of literary correspondence alive in this ever changing world..we rely on it to connect, express our feelings and emotions without the written word we leave very little of our true self behind when we depart this mortal realm…Benedict is the best when he reads George B Shaw.. he captures the true polemicist and contentious rhetoric that Shaw had…Shaw is up there with the best including Galileo…and Benedict is up there with the best of the best…..Choose Love ..always.❤️ 🇦🇺🇦🇺

@kristenrosales2919 6 ай бұрын

Someone give this awesome person a hoard of gold as a grand prize for reading a hilarious letter. I truly appreciate the witty letters of George Bernard Shaw on social conventions.

@they65 6 ай бұрын

Did you learn NOTHING from the hobbit movies???? DONT GIVE BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH A HOARD OF GOLD!

@kristenrosales2919 6 ай бұрын

@@they65 What I meant to say is to give a hoard of Golden Books for him to read to children. That way it will inspire children to read more books and foster a love of books.

@LazyIRanch 6 ай бұрын

I was curious so I looked up old videos of George Bernard Shaw to hear how he spoke and moved, his mannerisms. I suspected right away that Benedict isn't just reading what was written by the great playwright, he has BECOME Shaw! He's nailed his voice and mannerisms so well it's a bit eerie, but wonderful!

@chris0513 5 ай бұрын

@@kristenrosales2919 Great save! 😂 Well done 🎉

@Jazztizz2 4 ай бұрын

@@they65 hehehe I was thinking that when I saw your comment! ^^

@mk1st 5 ай бұрын

This sounds like the genesis of several Monty Python sketches.

@AnnaLizzyRose 6 ай бұрын

This is so good. The way Benedict makes GB Shaws letter come alive is amazing.

@loraineriddell7157 6 ай бұрын

What a master narrator 👏. And who better to read someone's writings who is just as eloquent.

@stuartpalmer8593 6 ай бұрын

We were there and enjoyed a fantastic evening. Thank you to all the readers,

@mpras684 6 ай бұрын

Wow! What a treat!

@unvergebeneid 6 ай бұрын

For a second I thought you were there in 1905 😅

@t.a.k.palfrey3882 6 ай бұрын

My late grandfather, at my grandmother's insistance, required us all to dress formally for dinner at weekends and when we dined at home with guests. (He died when I was 16, and the rule lapsed except on special occasions). My late mother used regularly to complain that it took her ages to dress for such dinners, but every male simply had to "dress as if he was being strangled by a bat". 🦇

@user-yv3ep6dd7o 4 ай бұрын

🥰😍🤩😘

@user-hx4ki8uv7n 6 ай бұрын

I'd never heard of this event until a few days ago, looked on the site for new dates and found that there was an event that very day. Damn, too late to get tickets! I must watch out for the next event - they're brilliant!

@nang.s.8869 6 ай бұрын

He has been my favorite actor for a long time, he could read the phone book and make it sound interesting. ❤

@luannvondracek439 6 ай бұрын

BC has always been in my telephone book catagory.

@CatsJP 6 ай бұрын

The phone book is always a comment on Letter Live so is Terms and Conditions..I’ve used it on Matt Berry numerous times in the past…it must be catchy…but do they still make phone books that’s the question..everything is online now.🤔🤔🇦🇺🇦🇺

@LilianPortela 6 ай бұрын

Benedict Cumberbatch ❤

@smitasingh21 6 ай бұрын

Here for him only 💖

@chrishasi660 6 ай бұрын

Benedict Cumberbatch is the most talented artist I ever saw. I enjoy every peace of acting and reading he has made and will ever made.👍🏼

@kurtwicklund8901 6 ай бұрын

The English language composed and presented with mastery of both arts. At least one of these is underappreciated these days.

@Talik13 6 ай бұрын

HAHAHAHA At first I was like "This guy sounds like a karen"... and then the punchline where you realize that he wrote this whole thing to a place that got bitchy with him over wearing a blue tie once! *Chef's kiss*

@nigelwest3430 6 ай бұрын

Amazing how much acting can be put into the reading of a letter

@LC-le9ew 6 ай бұрын

All while wearing the most beautiful velvet jacket ever made..

@kindabatooni9314 6 ай бұрын

Beautifully performed as usual. Benedict Cumberbatch always delivers.

@DeerheartStudioArts 6 ай бұрын

Mr. C. is truly a special superb actor!

@robertAGC 6 ай бұрын

Shaw was such a crank. I love him!

@lakeshagadson357 6 ай бұрын

this one gave a great speech of the day

@nicolaj3294 6 ай бұрын

My favourite actor, just brilliant ❤

@KweJoBoaTen 6 ай бұрын

At nine o’clock the opera began at eight 😅

@naomiarram5187 6 ай бұрын

Parenthetic comment

@2learn4ever 6 ай бұрын

I'm sure there must be a comma after nine o'clock, thus making the sentence quite correct and intelligent to the ear.

@alexandrafossey9267 6 ай бұрын

I wonder what GB Shaw would have written about Lady Gaga's meat dress?

@marthavillegas6250 6 ай бұрын

Or Bjork swan dress?

@LazyIRanch 6 ай бұрын

I don't know why this reminded me of something Erma Bombeck wrote about Madonna in the 80s when she was constantly in the news for some dumb reason, because she couldn't stand it if she wasn't center of attention. I think someone asked Erma what her opinion of Madonna was and she responded with, "Will someone PLEASE notice her so she'll go AWAY!?"

@seandoran2209 7 күн бұрын

So good, just came across this ..mustt have been hiding...

@KA-nw6iy 6 ай бұрын

Why did I think the first line was part of the letter for a minute lmao

@Gieza-Brake-Pahl 5 ай бұрын

I suppose getting GBS himself to read it would have been too complicated for the organizers however Mr Cumberbund makes a decent fist of it.

@Mr_Bimble 6 ай бұрын

Is that a impression of Victor Meldrew because it is perfect for this letter :D

@alexschumachertheredhotcp4446 6 ай бұрын

Hello, so nice to listen and watch. I would like to recite in the same way and be able to read beautifully out loud.

@zainab58 6 ай бұрын

Being a vegetarian in the England of 1905 cannot have been easy.

@cmck472 6 ай бұрын

"There's roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork and roast ham" "What's the vegetarian option?" "Roast chicken"

@magesalmanac6424 6 ай бұрын

What is that from? 😂

@cmck472 6 ай бұрын

@@magesalmanac6424 loosely based on ISIHAC Christmas Carol (Google is your friend, or it might be on KZfaq)

@Dylan-el6yc Ай бұрын

For the wealthy it actually was very easy, as vegetarianism was in vogue in Victorian times and carried through to modern spectacularly well with the addition of Indian cuisine.

@samuelfinkelstein804 6 ай бұрын

hi, thank you for the upload... please conitune uploading more clips... espicallly if it includs bc

@dont-want-no-wrench 6 ай бұрын

shaw makes some solid points

@jeanninecalder3652 6 ай бұрын

That was FAB!

@maanddy2 2 ай бұрын

Benedict is ❤❤❤

@scottcates 6 ай бұрын

So much grumpy🥰

@blindknitter 4 ай бұрын

As another Irish vegetarian I can only applaud and envy my compatriot's wit - and also, that's a great imitation right there!

@oliviatucker1950 6 ай бұрын

Benedict really outdid himself. Jolly well done!!

@carolyndarnton3304 6 ай бұрын

I love George Bernard Shaw - and he makes a good point. Gentleman's fashion was very restricted - still is.

@Fidd88-mc4sz 4 күн бұрын

Bernard Shaw esteemed himself a wit. He came into collision with a higher authority in the form of Winston Churchill, it went something like this, after Shaw had written a new play: GBS: Please find herewith tickets for the 1st night of my new play, bring a friend, if you have one. WSC: Cannot attend the 1st, will attend the 2nd, if you have one!

@gracewenzel 6 ай бұрын

Very like Professor Higgins

@LazyIRanch 6 ай бұрын

"Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins, just you wait!"

@rosieHolliday5887 4 ай бұрын

Brilliant

@deborahduthie4519 6 ай бұрын

Aren’t the eccentric Artists the most enjoyable.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌺💜🌺🌺🇦🇺

@afischer8327 5 ай бұрын

"Even that lady stopped short of a whole seagull." I had to pause the video to recover.

@johnferry7778 6 ай бұрын

Absolutely faultless accent and pacing of this reading. Benedict is bloody fantastic!

@tanha4623 6 ай бұрын

❤❤

@PhillipBicknell 6 ай бұрын

A letter written the year after the RSPB got its royal charter - methinks that is no coincidence.

@SN-sz7kw 4 ай бұрын

Fair point.

@sarahwatts7152 2 ай бұрын

I mean...he wasn't wrong about the offenses of putting birds on hats. Some of those populations have yet to recover

@ladyethyme 6 ай бұрын

Yeeeees

@melindaward4780 6 ай бұрын

I love him!

@danielcopeland3544 5 ай бұрын

George Bernard Shaw in fact had an Irish accent (mentioned by people like G. K. Chesterton who met him in person).

@blindknitter 4 ай бұрын

I'm more bothered by Oscar Wilde always being played as an English man.

@techwithdipufrom0ton621 6 ай бұрын

It's actually not what he reads, it's how he reads that makes the difference. 😊

@mrb8993 6 ай бұрын

wow ...what an obvious observation 🙃

@vhlaura97 6 ай бұрын

We gotta get this guy in a Vincent Van Gogh biopic, look at him

@deemura 6 ай бұрын

He actually did a documentary about him back then, Google it

@gustavgnoettgen 3 ай бұрын

He looks like he's playing Dr. House

@maxmartin7080 5 ай бұрын

Very good! (Although GBS’s voice sounded more Irish than that).

@clutchmatic 3 ай бұрын

He needs to read a story about all different species of penguins

@uyquelindoES 6 ай бұрын

señor Caruso jajaja

@SiiriCressey 6 ай бұрын

Men's evening dress is/was cheap‽ Am i missing some sarcasm on Mr. Shaw's part?

@Roheryn100 6 ай бұрын

Yes

@SiiriCressey 6 ай бұрын

@@Roheryn100 Good.

@WorldsUnhealthiestFitPerson 5 ай бұрын

9.5/10, not enough penguins.

@elizabethmcglothlin5406 5 ай бұрын

Funny, when it said Grumpy Irish Playwright....

@mrpicky1868 3 ай бұрын

sounds like it could be written by Beckett

@Cybjon 6 ай бұрын

And what do you learn from this? That the Victorians had to put up with influencers too.

@lordvetinari1331 4 ай бұрын

G.B. Shaw reminds me of Bilbo Baggins if he were thrice as salty

@TonyHammitt 6 ай бұрын

I think I'm with Mr. Shaw on this one. Bird bodies and parts should not be used as decorations. Ewww

@rafaellopes4909 6 ай бұрын

And apparently people were mad at him because he was wearing a blue tie!

@THE-X-Force 2 ай бұрын

Feels like he rushed through this one.

@decidingdifferent272 5 ай бұрын

hmmm... i'd very much like to hear benedict cumberbatch read a letter written by shaw complaining about his experience at the theatre when he went to see beetlejuice and sat behind lauren boebert... just sayin...

@steveoconnor5731 6 ай бұрын

GB Shaw did not sound like this though, he has given him a British accent. If you listen to recordings of him he sounded much more Irish.

@audreybuyrn8672 5 ай бұрын

Ironic that BC is wearing a jacket that does not fit and gapes at the neck.

@davetracey1 6 ай бұрын

Why is he giving Shaw an English accent though? A very strange interpretation as Shaw had a pronounced Irish accent.

@hobypop 6 ай бұрын

Reminds me a lot with Stewie Griffin 🙄

@distractionb 2 ай бұрын

Sounds like Gaga

@PicRic 4 ай бұрын

Isn't AI a thousand monkeys with a word processor, upgraded from a typewriter, for the modern world? Not sure what the God reference is about though.

@flannerymonaghan-morris4825 2 ай бұрын

What the hell accent did George Bernard Shaw had? It sure as hell didn’t sound Irish…

@kdurston1 6 ай бұрын

What an ill-fitting smoking jacket. The gaping collar is truly distracting and unseemly. For a man of means, there is no excuse for such a sartorial atrocity.

@rafaellopes4909 6 ай бұрын

At least it's not a dead bird.

@shanegaming7743 6 ай бұрын

Benedict cant do accents though. GBS was an IRISH man. Not a doctor in a raunchy English hospital show from the 1950s. Also his American accent in Dr Strange was atrocious

@AlexArthur94 6 ай бұрын

I can't speak for Irish, but as a born and raised American, I personally noticed nothing wrong with his American accent as Dr. Strange. We do have a variety of accents.

@meh8982 6 ай бұрын

He may not have gotten Shaw's very light Irish accent, but he did very much get his style and spirit.

@shanegaming7743 6 ай бұрын

@@AlexArthur94 OK where? Which part of the USA does Cumberbatch's Steven Strange hail from? Dude sounds like a weatherman whose been practising his non regional dialect

@AlexArthur94 6 ай бұрын

@@shanegaming7743 Relax, man. I'm pretty sure a lot of Americans don't have an easily noticeable regional accent, except perhaps to an expert. If you can readily and accurately tell where in this country someone's accent comes from when they don't have one of the more extreme accents (Southern, New York, Boston, etc), then you're pretty good at that.

@Mattinator95 6 ай бұрын

@@shanegaming7743New York apparently